Buying & selling equipment doesn’t have to be daunting

The lingering shutdown of certain portions of the federal government has little effect on employees at the two U.S. DOT agencies tasked with overseeing trucking and highway operations, according to a document from the U.S. DOT.

Though appropriations for the DOT have expired — and no new funding law has taken effect — no workers at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or the Federal Highway Administration have been furloughed, according to the U.S. DOT document.

That’s because those agencies are
funded by other mechanisms aside from the basic annual appropriations, such as
the Highway Trust Fund, which is supported by gas and diesel taxes. The
document notes that “all [FMCSA] operations continue as normal during a lapse
in annual appropriations,” and that the agency “has sufficient balances of liquidating
cash to operate for a limited period during a lapse in annual appropriations.”

It’s unclear how long a “limited
period” is, meaning the agency could be impacted by the shutdown should it
continue. It’s currently in its twelfth day, with lawmakers in Congress and
President Trump unable to reach a funding deal prior to the holiday recess.

The 2019-2020 Congress will be sworn
in Thursday.

In sum, more than 20,000 DOT
employees have been furloughed, with the bulk of them coming from the Federal
Aviation Administration, who has furloughed nearly 18,000 employees. However,
the FAA is by far the largest branch of the U.S. DOT. employing more than
27,000 workers.

The FHWA and FMCSA rank No. 2 and No.
3 on the list, with FHWA employing 2,862 staffers and FMCSA employing 1,156.